Travel down the highways and bye-ways of Commonwealth stamp collecting for news and views about Commonwealth stamps.

Friday, 17 February 2017

919. Stamperija Selling Sierra Leone "Local Stamps".

🇸🇱 Stamperija is now selling on its website items which it terms "new local stamps" from a number of its client territories. I'm not entirely sure what this means but suppose that it implies these particular items, all with locally relevant themes, are actually intended to be sold in post offices in the countries whose names appear on them. Perhaps Stamperija has caught on to the idea that they may find more ready customers if what they are offering are real postage stamps rather than collectibles and actually deal with subjects which mean something to the local community. The truth will out eventually if such stamps actually turn up on non-philatelic mail originating in such countries. The agency depicts stamps from Maldives, Togo, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone.

The stamps inscribed "Sierra Leone" look like real stamps and seem to make up 5 sets - Minerals of Sierra Leone, Local Wildlife (birds and lions), Protection of children, local health problems and Prevention of child marriage - one or two pretty gritty subjects among that lot. There is no indication of the dates of issue. If these are truly "local" stamps and not a clever ploy by Stamperija to appeal to collectors who are not taken in by the stuff it usually pushes on to the market (see the bottom of this Blog) then I rate these issues *****.

🇬🇮 I have not seen any earlier publicity about Spring Stampex 2017 Post and Go labels from the Gibraltar postal service but it appears that such items have been on sale at the philatelic exhibition - "Barbary Apes" labels (tasteful design with one ape cleaning fleas off a second one) with an additional inscription, "Spring Stampex/Feb 2017 and a new design - the year of the rooster design from one of the 2 designs of the se-tenant pair issued on 30 January 2017.

I presume the Year of the Rooster labels will also be dispensed from the kiosks in Gibraltar itself - GI02 at the main post office and GI03 at the Parcel Office. Obviously the labels dispensed from kiosk GI01 at Stampex will have no postal validity in the country in which the kiosk is sited. Rating:- 0

🇬🇧 There are numerous other Post and Go labels to be obtained from the kiosks set up at Stampex - the Royal Mail issues include the new "Mail By Rail" sextet from kiosks AO12, AO13 and AO14 as well as BO01, the "Machin Head" with "65th Anniversary of/HM The Queen's Accession" inscription from AO12, single design strips of the Locomotive design from the "Heritage Transport" set from kiosk AO13 and the Machin Head design with additional inscription "Machin Anniversary/1967-2017". Mostly, it's all very tiresome and enough to make the keenest collector yawn with boredom. Rating:- 0.

🇬🇬 As well as its new "Lighthouses" set, Guernsey Post, is inflicting on us another additional inscription on its "Guernsey Flag" label - "HM The Queen/Accession 1952". Rating:- 0.

🇯🇪 ln addition to its new "Shells" designs, Jersey Post joins in on the "HM The Queen/Accession 1952" inscription frenzy by applying it to its "Jersey Flag" labels. Rating:- 0.

🇻🇨 IGPC, which has titled itself "the world's most respected philatelic agency", issued a sheetlet of 3 different stamps and an accompanying miniature sheet containing 2 different stamps on 14 December 2016 to, one presumes, commemorate the 90th birthday of Queen Elizabeth II. The name of St. Vincent And The Grenadines is inscribed on the items. Unfortunately things didn't quite go according to plan. All 5 stamps bear the inscription "Queen Elizabeth II 80th Birthday" while the logos in the margins of the sheets proclaim that the issue is commemorating the Queen's 90th birthday. Perhaps The Queen has started fibbing about her age and confused IGPC as to just how old she really is.

🇳🇿 Upcoming new issues from New Zealand Post will be:-

5 April 2017 - Centenary of the First World War - "The Darkest Hour"

3 May 2017 - Rugby - British and Irish Lions Tour He Tohu

7 June 2017 - to be announced

5 July 2017 - Kiwiana

2 August 2017 - to be announced

6 September 2017 - Childrens' Health

6 September 2017 - to be announced

4 October 2017 - to be announced

1 November 2017 - Christmas

15 November 2017 - issue for Ross Dependency

And so we return to Stamperija and what, we may presume, are not local stamp issues. This week the admittedly long lost philatelic reputations of 2 Commonwealth countries are blighted even more by further paraphilatelic products released in their name by Stamperija, the almost supernaturally prolific Lithuania-based purveyors of things they call "stamps".

🇸🇧 Hence Solomon Islands' name is inscribed on 13 "issues", each made up of sheetlets of 4 different "stamps" and miniature sheets containing a single "stamp". Stamperija has produced stuff with lots of themes surrounding Australia but it seems hard to think that Australian collectors are a likely willing market for the products given that the collectors there seem to be an informed and sophisticated group who can spot rubbish when they see it. Anyway, for the record, the subjects depicted are:- Australian ships, Paul Gauguin, Dolphins, Dugongs, Pandas, Australian celebrities, Australian endangered species, Kangaroos, Australian trains, Australian water birds, Australian birds of prey, CITES Conference in Johannesburg in 2016 and Australian crocodiles. The stated date of issue was 12 December 2016. Rating:- 0.

🇲🇿 Meanwhile the name of Mozambique has been applied to 15 sheetlets, each of 4 different "stamps", and 15 miniature sheets on the following subjects:- Frogs, Butterflies, Aquatic birds, Doves, Bee eaters, Eagles, Tropical fish, Dinosaurs, Year of The Rooster, Mushrooms, Cats, Dogs, Horses, Bats and Dolphins. The stated date of issue was 10 November 2016. Rating:- 0.